Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27252

Zip code 27252 contains one public school, J S Waters School, a K-8 school labeled as an elementary school serving 222 students in Goldston, North Carolina, within Chatham County Schools. This small school maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 12.4 and serves a student body in which 98.65% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an extremely high level of economic disadvantage. As the only school in the area, J S Waters School is evaluated against district and state benchmarks rather than local peer schools.

J S Waters School shows a strong upward trend, improving from a 3-star rating in 2024-2025 (488th of 1,490 schools) to a 4-star rating in 2025-2026 (353rd of 1,492 schools), moving from the 67th to the 76th percentile statewide. Overall EOG proficiency average rose from 58.8% to 66.8%, putting the school above the North Carolina state average of 59.4% and essentially matching the district average of 66.5%. Math and science are clear strengths, with 3rd grade math at 83.3% proficiency, 5th grade math at 82.1%, and 5th grade science at 82.1%, all well above state averages. Chronic absenteeism is 21.5%, below the state rate of 24.2% and nearly identical to the district's 21.4%, which is notable given the school's high-poverty population.

Reading is the school's relative weakness, with an overall proficiency rate of 60.6% that trails the district's 63.4%. Fourth grade reading, at 52.4%, falls below both district and state averages. Middle-grades math also drops off, with 7th grade at 52.4% and 8th grade at 52.9% after elementary grades performed at or above 76%. These dips may reflect the challenge of transitioning to secondary coursework in a small school. The recent statewide ranking jump was driven by sharp gains in 8th grade math, 8th grade reading, and 3rd grade math. Despite the areas needing attention, J S Waters School is performing above the state average in every subject while serving a nearly universally economically disadvantaged population, making it an academically competitive school within Chatham County Schools and across North Carolina.